In a sure sign that spring is coming, it's time for a special annual tradition here at Vermont Public: the official announcement of the newest Vermont Book Award finalists.
Established in 2014 by Vermont College of Fine Arts, the Vermont Book Awards honor exceptional local work in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and children’s literature.
Past winners include poet and essayist Mary Ruefle, Vermont-based baker Martin Philip, and the state’s current Poet Laureate Bianca Stone.
To qualify, a nominated work must have been published in the past year and penned by a Vermont author, defined by Vermont Humanities as a someone who lives in the state more than half the year.
The Vermont Book Awards are overseen by Vermont Humanities.
Miciah Bay Gault is directs the Vermont Book Awards at Vermont Humanities and is the author of the forthcoming novel The Nobody Code. She recently stopped by Vermont Public to reveal the 2025 Vermont Book Award finalists.
Without further ado, here they are.
Creative nonfiction
- Jamaica Kincaid for Putting Myself Together
- Helen Whybrow for The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life
- Tyler Alexander for If I Can Get Home This Fall: a Story of Love, Loss, and a Cause in the Civil War
More from NPR: By land and by sea, these new nonfiction books will carry you away
Fiction
- Sasha Hom for Sidework
- Makenna Goodman for Helen of Nowhere
- Aria Aber for Good Girl
- Alison Bechdel for Spent
More from Vermont Edition: Montpelier author Makenna Goodman on her new novel 'Helen of Nowhere'
Poetry
- Carlene Kucharczyk for Strange Hymn
- Jeff McRae for The Kingdom Where No One Dies
- Kristin Dykstra for Dissonance
- Chard deNiord for Westminster West
Children's literature
- Angelica Del Campo for The Ghost of Wreckers Cove
- Aaron Starmer for Night Swimming
- Mima Tipper for Kat's Greek Summer
More from Vermont Edition: Mima Tipper shares the story behind her young adult novel
The winners will be announced at a special cocktail and dessert reception in Montpelier on May 2.
